God's Hedge

TEXT: Job 1:6-12, MORE LESSONS: Isa. 59:1-3.

In the Word of God, there is provision for safety or defence. God is emphatic about this,

When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee . Isa. 43:2

It is of paramount importance for us to have the right attitude to the Word of God. Your trust in someone's word reflects your relationship with the person. What is your relationship with Jesus?

God built a hedge around Job, thus Satan could not touch him initially. Similarly, God's hedge has been raised around your family, finance, business etc that is why there is safety. May the Lord's hedge be strong around you.

It is God's hedge that is constantly around you when you sleep and wake up. There are many that sleep and have bad dreams, unpleasant experiences, some even die in their sleep. But David says, I laid me down and slept; I awaked; for the LORD sustained me Psa. 3:5. God's hedge around you is your security, strong and lasting since God is everlasting. Our non-consistency, disobedience, broken relationship, weaken the hedge, He that diggeth a pit shall fall into it; and whoso breaketh an hedge, a serpent shall bite him Eccl. 10:8. You need to repent of your secret sin or else the serpent will strike you. A sinner can be attacked at anytime because he doesn't have God's defence/hedge. Ask the Lord for forgiveness and make your way straight with Him.

Thereafter God's love will be available for you all your lifetime, As the mountains are round about Jerusalem, so the LORD is round about his people from henceforth even for ever Ps. 125:2. I proclaim this shall be your portion. However, you must dwell in the secret place of the most High and abide under the shadow of the Almighty (Ps. 91:2). Henceforth you will not be afraid of the terror by night; nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness. As David declares in Psa. 91:5-6, Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day; Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday.

So shall it be for you, in Jesus' name.

PRAYER / ACTION

* Give thanks to God for His cover over you and your family.

* Declare that this cover shall never be removed.

* Pray that you will live up to God's expectation and that He will keep the hedge around you intact.

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Price and Reward

TEXT: Dan. 10:1-7, MORE LESSONS: Ps. 128:2.

There is no revival in history without a price; even when we can't tell how it came, someone somewhere past or present, laboured for it. Just as there is no smoke without fire or a baby without pregnancy, revival is always a product of someone's labour. If you want revival, seek for the price and pay it. Daniel's need was not personal, it was for the entire nation of Israel in captivity, yet he paid the price, In those days I Daniel was mourning three full weeks. I ate no pleasant bread, neither came flesh nor wine in my mouth, neither did I anoint myself at all, till three whole weeks were fulfilled Dan. 10:2-3.

In addition, Daniel spent many hours in long intercessory prayers, then the answer came (v5). However, when the revelation came, he noted something significant in v7, And I Daniel alone saw the vision: for the men that were with me saw not the vision; but a great quaking fell upon them, so that they fled to hide themselves.

The lesson is simple: only those who pay the price get the reward. The reason why many have not experienced the spectacular is not because God is partial, but they have not paid the price. God is just, He will give to you that which you have paid for, Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap Gal. 6:7.

If you sow to your life fasting and prayer, you will reap miracles and blessings, just for you, it won't be harvested by another person. If you sow financially, you'll reap back financially, good measure, pressed down together, it goes only to your account. If you sow a seed of sin, nobody will harvest your punishment, The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him Ezek. 18:20.

God is just, He will pay every man according to his work, Say ye to the righteous, that it shall be well with him: for they shall eat the fruit of their doings Isa. 3:10. Watch what you do in life, the harvest will come directly to you.

PRAYER / ACTION

* Ask God to help you sow only the seed of what you will like to harvest.

* Pray that you will not lack the grace to pay the price for great things.

* Ask that God will dislodge every evil seed that you ever sowed.

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A New Name in Glory

TEXT: Rev 2:17, MORE LESSONS: Rev 3:12

It is obvious that in many cultures, names are not ordinary. Some do not like the names they bear, and, like Jabez, you can ask God to change your name.

Why do we desire a new name? It is amazing how in newspapers some people change all their names without any explanation; for some others, you can guess the change is due to marriage/divorce, conversion from one faith to another, or just mere conviction that the name

no longer suits them. While these changes may be sincere and true, they do not free from the liabilities or encumbrances of previous names.

In the Bible, some people changed their names. Examples include: Abram to Abraham (Gen. 17:5-10), Sarai to Sarah (Gen. 17:15-16), Jacob to Israel (Gen.32:28-32) and Saul to Paul (Acts. 13:9-12). Each of these instances signified a turning point and an establishment of a new covenant relationship between God and the bearers of such names. No wonder when a person gets born again, he becomes a new creature (II Cor. 5:17; Rev. 3:20, 21:17), old things are passed away (Psa. 103:12). God becomes your Father by a relationship through Christ who paid the price for our redemption by His sacrificial death on the cross. He is our repudiation for adoption into sonship and with His Holy Spirit, God seals us as His property. We become God's stewards of every good work. He writes our new names in the Lamb's Book of life, He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches ; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it Rev. 2:17.

Do you have a new name in glory before the Father? Whatever name you bear on the earth, negative or positive, good or bad, must end here one day. There is only one place where the enlisting of your name is most important, and that is in the Lamb's Book of life. The qualification for this new name is cleansing and forgiveness by the blood of Jesus made possible by personally acknowledging your sins, asking God for forgiveness and accepting Jesus as the Lord and Saviour of your life. Let me remind you that no matter who you are and what you have done, God loves you and wants to give you a new name written in the Lamb's Book of life.

PRAYER / ACTION

Examine the following scriptures and use them in prayer, meditation and self examination: Rev. 2:17, 20:15, 22:14-15.

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What’s your Name?

READ: I Chron. 4:1-10, MORE LESSONS: Hos. 1:2-11

There is so much about a name, it tells one’s history or heritage. Jabez was so named because his mother had him in pain. Jabez did not like it so he asked God to bless him, enlarge his coast and keep him from evil (1 Chronicles 4:10).

When Phinehas' pregnant wife heard the sad news that the ark of God had been captured and that her husband, his father, and brother were dead, and that the army of Israel suffered heavy losses and fled before the Philistines, she went into labour and gave birth to a boy whom she named Ichabod because of the bad events surrounding his birth (1 Samuel 4:17-22). Jesus was named Jesus because He was born to save His people from their sins and Emmnauel because God came to dwell with man (Matthew 1:20-25).

What is your name? Is your name a memorial of pain, an epic of sorrow, despair, frustration, rejection, doom or a symbol of faith, hope and abundant life?

We have many examples in the Scripture of how a man's name can determine his destiny, some had the name from birth, others had theirs changed. Abraham, Sarah, Jacob, Peter, all had a change of name, while Jesus, John the Baptist and Isaac had their names from birth. All of them had their destinies influenced by their names. Although Jabez had a bad name, he did not drop the name but had a change of the influence of the name. The Bible says …And God granted him that which he requested IChron.4:10.

The point is, names have effect and influence on one’s destiny, negative and positive. But unlike what many believers think, the first thing to do about a name with a negative influence is not to change it but to pray for deliverance and a divine instruction on what to do with the name. You need not rush to change your name, rather give prompt attention to the force behind the evil name. Even names that come out of negative events will respond when there is a change of force behind the story. When the power of God breaks the yoke and the story of barrenness, lateness, failure, sorrow etc. changes, obviously the evil name will go. I agree with you, every evil force working against you by  your name is broken. Receive power for a greater life now.

PRAYER / ACTION

* Rebuke every evil name that any negative situation could have forced on you.

* Send any force working with your given name back to hell.

* Ask God for divine direction on any name that you bear or think that people call you today.

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